we are all gonna die sometime, it's part of being human, you gotta realize that and not worry about it....

oh, you mean from the spin class? spin class is different than riding a mountain bike. i've ridden with spin class teachers and dropped them like 3rd grade calculus. i would probably last about 2 minutes in a spin class before i collapsed in a puddle of my own puke and sweat. two separate and different things. go and have fun and enjoy the workout. then go and have fun and enjoy riding a bicycle.

My road riding partner takes a spinning class. She talked me into it. I told her I hate riding indoors, really I do. I've spent enough time on the trainer to develop a dislike strong enough to force me outside during northeast winters. Anyway, at the beginning of class she set me up. She was telling the instructor that I said it would be too easy. This was a lie. But it had reached the point of no return. 10 minutes in I was hurting. 20 minutes in I knew I had a serious problem. 30 minutes, I was standing in the parking lot waiting to puke. I didn't. Walked back in and tried to keep up the best I could. A couple days later, I took her up one of the biggest climbs we've got around here as payback. She hasn't asked me back to the class since and I wouldn't go if she did.

I used to spin over the winter 3 times per week and still maintained it once per week during the summer months. You will find the first class to very tough so don't go at 100% otherwise you'll puke. However, being a cyclist you'll catch up and keep pace with the rest of the class in a few short weeks if you decide to stick with it.

I definitely enjoyed the workout s while I was in the middle of it I was in fantastic shape and I found it helped me with my climbs.

I no longer spin simply because I didn't renew my gym membership given that I run more than anything else.

Spin class is as hard as you make it, as you control resistance. Some people kill themselves with effort, and some people breeze through on what must be really light settings. Though at the easy end, it's still got to be better than no exercise at all.

I've been to classes a handful of times recently. Some people are obviously working hard, but I've noticed that about half the class walks out without sweaty clothing. (I should add that I live in a country without much of an excercise culture)

I took a semester of spinning in college, figured I would kill it, given my MTBing experience. It was really hard, but I spun circles around the 60 yr. old overweight ladies who were my classmates! In all seriousness though, it is an excellent cardio workout and kind of fun for a novel change, but it gets boring. Especially if you're used to climbing mountains.

First, the furious broker demanded the hedge-fund manager please stop making so much noise. "Then it escalates to 'Shut up!' and "Shut the f--- up!"
The broker complained to the instructor, who "basically shrugs," Davis said.

The broker then allegedly issued the final ultimatum - "If you don't shut the f--- up, I'm getting off my bike." The hedge-fund manager said: "Stop being a baby."

Finally, the ballistic broker dismounts and "charges my client's bike like Leonard Marshall of the New York Giants hitting a practice sled," Davis said.

I did spin classes for two winters and really liked it; AND had the best racing seasons, fitness-wise, following. The class had all levels of riders but that didn't matter because it was Heart Zone Training workouts and the difficulty matched your personal sub-max HR established in the first class. Plus, if you felt like a harder workout that day, you just bumped up your target HRs for that given workout.

The workouts will kick your butt if you want them to for sure. I have since tried two winters on my own on the trainer in the basement and it's boring, hard to discipline myself and just not the same. Wife and I are planning to join the Y next month and we'll get back into formal classes again for the off-season.

I use spinning classes as part of my winter routine. Like many, I dislike riding indoors. I've tried stationary bikes and trainers and found that I generally don't get the same workout intensity that I do with an instructor yelling at me. My first few times spinning were similar to others' experiences. I was sucking wind hard. Once you get a hang of it and treat it as a separate discipline from riding, you may find that it is a solid workout. Because I enjoy cycling, I suck it up through the winter to have a stronger beginning to the following season. I also swim twice a week. That does wonders for cardio fitness.

If you never have done it you will more than likely be spent afterwards. I do spin classes all the time and depending on the instructor, can be rather grueling if they are a masochist.

But enjoy and be prepared to get your arse handed to you. I don't know how long your classes/her's is but at my gym 1 hr. to 1.5 hr. Don't be too cocky and just go and do as instructed.

If she does not ride any mtn. bike or hard stuff you may do to her as she will to you in the class. Just depends.

Main thing...............enjoy! I rode spin class all winter one time before getting back into mtn. biking and was kick'n butt in class. My first trail ride and my partner left my arse behind like last weeks leftovers! It is all relative.

I use spinning classes as part of my winter routine. Like many, I dislike riding indoors. I've tried stationary bikes and trainers and found that I generally don't get the same workout intensity that I do with an instructor yelling at me. My first few times spinning were similar to others' experiences. I was sucking wind hard. Once you get a hang of it and treat it as a separate discipline from riding, you may find that it is a solid workout. Because I enjoy cycling, I suck it up through the winter to have a stronger beginning to the following season. I also swim twice a week. That does wonders for cardio fitness.

huh? i don't get it. that was helpful and informative. who are you and what did you do with junkyard?

Coming from a Road Guy if you want to get faster you need to do indoor training. Its essential and one of the few ways to push your body to the limit, its painful, it hurts, you'll feek sick, but when you go out an ride and start destroying people it was worth all the effort.

......, its painful, it hurts, you'll feek sick, but when you go out an ride and start destroying people it was worth all the effort.

wow. the need to "destroy" people to feel some kind of self worth, boost your self esteem, or have fun riding a bicycle is kinda sad. and the fact that you have to push yourself sick, punish yourself..... i feel kinda bad for you.

First I'm a road cyclist, I train for races. Second I never mentioned spin class, I train at a friends house. We get a group of people hooked up to computrainers. Its Painful, but without pain you never get stronger. Yes indoor interval training is harder than climbing a tough hill. And to clarify winning races requires beating people. It has nothing to do with self worth, only dedication. Sorry if I offended some people on here.